Garcirella
by Leila Grant
Summary: Penelope Garcia loved her job. Sometimes, however, she felt like a slave to the team she loved and cared for. When she falls sick one day, she realizes just how she feels. Written for Kricket Williams.
1. Chapter 1

(A/N~ I wrote this for my friend Kricket Williams when she was sick. I hope she likes it. Special thanks to Sunnyinoregon Fanfiction.)

Sick

Penelope Garcia loved her job. She got to spend all day in her own world, around the computers she built herself, and most importantly she got to help people. Garcia had spent most of her life wanting to help people, and now she got to do it every day! But then there were days like today.

Garcia, do this, do that, make sure this gets taken care of, blah blah blah…night and day it's Garcia, Garcia, Garcia! She felt like Strauss was an evil stepmother, and, God did she love them both, but she felt like Hotch and Rossi were her evil minions, the ugly step-sisters.

Work, work, work.

That was all she did. She knew her team appreciated her, they just didn't show it all the time. Sometimes she wondered if there was something better out there. She knew she could go to work for some dot com billionaire and make triple the money for less than half the work!

Or, she could start her own! She was a genius! She could do whatever she wanted!

But she loved her team.

She loved her job.

She would suck it up and put a smile on.

Garcia sighed when her office phone rang again. She had six searches going already and three traces on top of that. She couldn't handle anything else. She felt weary and slightly nauseous as she answered the phone.

"Talk to me," she said into the phone, but before she could hear the response, she found herself hanging her head over her office garbage can.

"Garcia? Garcia? Are you okay?" JJ's voice sounded in the phone.

Once she was finally able to do so, Garcia picked up the phone. "I think I have a stomach virus, Jaj," Garcia hated admitting defeat.

"You should go home, get some rest. Kevin can handle everything you've got going on. I'll see to it," JJ said.

"No, no, I can handle i-," but she didn't get to finish before she was vomiting loudly into the trash can again. She packed up her things and headed for home, praying she could make it without having to stop and throw up on the side of the road.

She rejoiced silently when she pulled into the parking garage of her building. Up the stairs she went, dragging her feet slowly to not jostle her sensitive stomach. Garcia got into her door before the urge to puke again struck her. She managed to make it to her bathroom this time, thankfully.

Penelope decided she needed a long shower to help wash the ick off. She ran the water as hot as she could and pulled off her stinky clothes. The water felt cleansing, like it was washing away her sickness, her tiredness, and all of her worries. This delusion was cut short, however, when she threw up again in the shower.

"Uggghhh…," she said, stepping out of the shower and pulling on her bathrobe. A noise came from the kitchen, and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Don't worry, Mama," Derek called once he heard her in the bathroom. "It's just me, coming to check in on you. Do you need help to make it to bed?"

"No, Sweet Cheeks. I don't want you to get sick."

"Don't worry about me, Mama. I've got an immune system like a tank. I'll be just fine," he said as he appeared in her bedroom doorway. His strong, dark arms wrapped around her waist and guided her to the purple, fluffy kingdom she shared with no one. He pulled the comforter back and helped her settle into bed. Garcia noticed there were three missed calls on her phone, and it was ringing again. She went to answer it, but Derek stopped her.

"Baby doll, what are you doing?"

"The team needs me, Sweet cheeks."

"Uh, no. You need to rest, Mama. You're sick."

"But-but-," she started.

"No buts. Take this, it'll put you out and make you stop puking."

Garcia sighed, but accepted the medication and laid back. It wasn't long before she drifted into a deep, restless sleep.


	2. Waking Up

Waking Up

Garcia woke up to the sound of chiming bells. Chiming bells? Where in the world were those coming from? She rolled over in her big, luscious bed—and promptly hit the floor. This wasn't her big bed at all. It was tiny cot. Her Morrocan rug wasn't on the floor. It was a cold, hard, stone floor. What was this? She stood up and shook herself off. She noticed she was dressed in a blue night gown, not the bright green one she'd gone to sleep in.

Suddenly, she realized where she was. The basement at the BAU! Why was she here? She looked around the small, stone room. There was a dresser, a small table with a lamp, the cot, and a small dressing area. She lived here? She was appalled—this was not her style at all! Why on earth would she live here?

A small squeaking noise drew her attention to the floor. There was a mouse! Garcia squeaked a little herself, hoping the mouse would be scared and run away. She fell awkwardly back onto the bed, banging her head on the wall behind her.

"OW!"

"Garcia, are you okay?"

Garcia looked around, wondering where the voice had come from.

"Down here," said the voice again.

"What? Reid, is that you? Why—are you a MOUSE?"

Reid's mousey face looked slightly perplexed. "I've always been a mouse," he answered.

"You've always been a mouse," Garcia repeated, still extremely confused.

"Yes, and Garcia, there's no time for this. I've come to find you because there's another mouse caught in one of your evil stepmother's traps! We have to save it," Mouse-Reid looked extremely excited and scared.

"Save it?" My God, what was in that pill Derek gave her? She decided she would play along—for now. She was obviously dreaming.

Running towards the door, she realized she was still in her nightgown. "I guess I should get dressed first."

She looked in the small wardrobe, noticing it only contained brown, black, and navy blue drab suits. What the hell? Shaking her head woefully, she picked out a brown suit and threw it on quickly.

"Lead the way, Mouse-Reid," she said, following the little mouse out of the room and up the basement stairs. On the top landing, they found a little metal cage. Inside, there was a scared little mouse. Garcia looked at him again, and she swore it was Anderson. She removed the latch on the cage, letting the little guy out.

"Thank you," he squeaked.

"Umm…you're welcome," she replied.

"Garcia, you'd better get to your office if you're going to get started on your daily chores. You don't want to make angry again," another little mouse voice squeaked, this one female.

"EMILY?"

"Yes," the mouse looked up at her quizzically. She wondered if her friend was feeling okay.

"This is so weird," Garcia said, but she clamored up the stairs to the office she loved so dearly. Maybe being around her things would shake her out of this funk.

Walking in the door to her office, she stopped, and gasped.

"What…the…," Garcia cried. "This isn't my office!" Everything was so…drab. She'd always kept things orderly and neat, but this was downright tidy. Everything was gray! Where were her stuffed animals? Her glitter pens? Her posters? She felt like she'd just walked into a Charlie Chaplain movie, without the comedy.

In no time at all, the phone started ringing. She wasn't sure how to answer it. At the moment, she certainly did not feel like the Supreme Goddess she normally professed to be.

"Garcia's office," she stammered, picking up the phone.

"Why are you still sitting around? Did you finish that report yet? Why isn't it on my desk?"

"Rossi? Is that you?"

"Of course it is, who else would it be? Get up here with that report, and it had better be perfect!"

The phone slammed in Garcia's ear, unsettling her nerves a little. Rossi was usually so nice to her. Gathering the report in her hands, she headed out of the office and to the elevator.

Pressing the button that would take her to the BAU bullpen, she rode the elevator in stunned silence. When she arrived, she almost had a heart attack. The BAU was usually so busy, bustling, even. Everyone was sitting nice and quietly at their desks, working diligently. There was no visiting, no laughter, no pictures of families adorned any desks. Again…drab.

She walked up the stairs to Rossi's office. Once there, she knocked on the door timidly, afraid of what she might find on the other side.

"Come in," his voice called from the other side.

She entered, and was immediately struck by his appearance. It was Rossi…but not. His nose was crooked, he had a huge wart on his chin and his hair was unseemly to say the least. She tried to shake it off, and put the report on his desk.

"Will there be anything else, sir," she asked, trying to hide her confusion and astonishment.

"Of course there will! What do you think this is, the Hilton? Get busy," he said, pointing to a stack of papers on his desk. "And don't forget to stop by Hotch's office, he's got some chores for you, too."

Quickly, Garcia grabbed the papers and scooted out of Rossi's office, stunned at the way he'd treated her, not to mention his appearance.

She walked next door to Hotch's office, knocking lightly on the door.

"Yes," he called sharply.

Garcia entered, shocked into silence when she saw him. Hotch was hideous, even more so than Rossi had been. He had several warts, at least three missing teeth, and a horrible unibrow.

"I was told you wanted to see me," she stammered.

"Of course I want to see you. Did you read this report before you handed it in? It's shoddy at best. Worse than your usual subpar work, I'd say. You can do better, even if it is marginally!" He threw the report across the desk at her. "Now, get it re-done and all these others before the end of the day, or else!"

Again, she grabbed the papers and scrambled to get out of the line of fire, muttering "Yes sir, yes sir," under her breath.

"And don't forget to see what Strauss has for you," he called after her.

Afraid of what to expect, Garcia walked the few feet to Strauss' office. Shuffling the papers precariously balanced in her arms, she knocked on the door.

"You may enter," Strauss' voice called from the other side.

Garcia held her breath and walked in. She was shocked to find that Strauss looked normal enough, just a small bit scarier than usual.

"You wanted to see me," she asked.

"You're late. You should have been in here five minutes ago to collect your assignments for the day. I will not accept this sort of carelessness and thoughtlessness. You are responsible for many important things, and you cannot sleep on the job!"

"I'm sorry," Garcia stammered quietly.

"Don't be sorry! Get to work!" Strauss yelled at her.

Garcia grabbed the files from her hands and ran out of the room as quickly as possible. She hurriedly made her way down to the elevator and rushed back to her office.


	3. Chapter 3

The Invitation

While poor Penelope was working her fingers to the bone at Quantico, President Gideon was being harassed by his most trusted advisor, Alex Blake.

"It's just completely absurd to have a vice president who isn't married! It opens the media to all sorts of speculation, especially since your wife passed. It's too late to pick another running mate; campaign season starts in a little under a month. He needs someone. That would go a long way to solidify your second term."

"I can't force the man into a relationship," Gideon replied, slightly exasperated. "He's a grown man, for crying out loud! He can make his own choices. I'm not his father."

"No, but you're the closest thing he has to one. He values your opinion. Talk to him." Blake urged. "I'm not saying force him. I'm saying suggest it to him."

"How do you purpose I 'suggest' it to him?"

"Everybody loves a party," she replied, sauntering out of the room.~

Garcia groaned as she picked up the seemingly never ending pile of paper work on her desk. She felt like she'd be at this for the rest of her life. Then she realized—she would be! This was her job, her career, she was stuck in it. Unless she could find something better, which wasn't even an option until her contract expired.

Settling in for more work, Garcia noticed a very official looking piece of mail that had gotten mixed in with her paperwork. The return address was the White House! Garcia wondered what it could be and if she should open it.

"Eh," she said as she picked up her letter opener. Inside the cream colored envelope, a matching cream colored invitation was nestled in ribbon and tissue paper. Pulling it out, Garcia saw a personal note thrown inside:

"Make sure the whole team attends! It's sure to be a splendid event!"- Blake

There was going to be a ball at the White House, to honor the vice President's birthday. How fun! Garcia needed some fun and wanted to go very badly.

She knew, however, that the invitation had not been intended for her. Carrying the envelope and all its contents upstairs to her boss, she worried how much trouble she would be in when Strauss realized she had opened the letter. She knocked on the door, and was told to enter.

"This somehow ended up in the general BAU mail. Since it wasn't addressed specifically to you, I opened it with the other mail. My apologies, ma'am," Garcia apologized before Strauss even had a chance to look at the invitation.

"I've come to expect incompetence from you, anyways. Was there something else you wanted?"

"It's just..well, ma'am, the letter inside. I read it, too. It says the whole team should attend."

"So it does."

"Doesn't that include me?"

Strauss glared at Penelope like her head had just burst into flames. "I suppose it does. But you have a lot of work to catch up on. And I'm sure you have nothing suitable to wear. You'd just embarrass yourself, as well as me."

Garcia couldn't help the little waves of excitement bubbling up inside of her. "I promise I won't. I'll find something you'd approve of, ma'am. And I'll finish all of my work today."

"Very well. You'd better get busy, then."

"Yes ma'am," Garcia said, rushing out of the office. She hurried back to her basement office, practically floating on air. It had been so long since she had done anything fun! Tomorrow night was going to be magical. She was sure of it!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- Dressed

Garcia looked through her drab wardrobe. She had nothing to wear to a party at a hobo's house, let alone the White House! What was she going to do?

"You're not going to find anything suitable to wear in there," Emily piped up from the floor.

"Well, then where should I look?" Garcia was beside herself with worry.

"Garcia, what are you doing in here? I just put three new files on your desk. They need your immediate attention!"

"Yes, sir, right away," Garcia answered Rossi's call.

"Don't worry about a thing," Reid assured her. "We'll take care of everything."

"Oh, I'll never get to go! There's no way I have time to finish all of my work and find a dress," Garcia sulked out of the room.

"We need to get to a computer," Emily said.

"I know where we can find one that's barely used," Reid answered.

"How are we going to pay for it?"

Emily twitched her nose and pulled a piece of black plastic out from under the dull, gray rug. "I have Rossi's credit card. I figured he wouldn't notice."

"Smart thinking," Reid congratulated his small friend. Together, they dodged the foot traffic through the halls and stair wells of Quantico until they reached an almost abandoned floor. There were several empty computer terminals. Reid and Emily picked one, switching on the power.

"Where do we go to look for a dress?" Reid pondered.

"Tiffany's. Shoes and jewelry, too. They'll deliver overnight," Emily replied, her eyes dreamy.

Using their tiny little feet to work together, they typed in the web address and searched for the dress and accessories.

"Oh, I love this one," Emily exclaimed. It was a full length ball gown, blush pink, with silver beading around the bodice. The sweetheart neckline was accented with delicate lace. It looked precisely like a princess dress.

After finding silver stilettos to match, the two mice searched for the perfect accessories. They picked out a necklace that was adorned with a heart shaped pendant , the color of the sapphire matching the dress perfectly. Heart shaped earrings matched, with a bracelet to go along. They placed the order, selecting the express delivery. Their confirmation told them their package would arrive by tomorrow evening. They absolutely couldn't wait for Garcia to see it! Together, Emily and Reid scurried to Garcia's office to let her know the good news.

"Wait, let's surprise her," Emily said. "We won't tell her, just show her when it gets here."

"Sounds like a good idea," Reid agreed. When they arrived at Garcia's office, they perched themselves on her desk, hoping to cheer her up a little. Garcia was obviously very flustered.

"I have no idea how I'll ever finish this in time," she sniffled. "There's just so much. I don't know what to do."

"We'll help," Emily suggested.

"How? You're mice!"

"We can type. And there are three of us now. Trust us, we will help you get done in time!" So Emily, Reid, Anderson, and Garcia stayed up until well past midnight, typing away.~

Garcia awoke the next morning, still at her desk. She shook off the sleep and remembered what the day was. She was extremely shocked to see that all of her work was done and stacked neatly on her desk. After glancing at the clock, Garcia realized it was well after ten and there was today's work still to do! Plus to find a dress. First things first, she needed a shower and to change her clothes.

Walking to her room in the basement, she was shocked again when she walked through the door. Hanging from the wardrobe full of bland clothing, there was the most beautiful dress she'd ever seen. And there were shoes and jewelry to match!

"Where did all of this come from?" As she asked, tears steamed down her face.

"We told you we would take care of everything," Reid's tiny voice sounded from the floor.

Garcia spent the rest of the day walking on air, positively elated to get to go to the ball that evening. After finishing the day's work, she hurried into her room to change her clothes. She felt absolutely beautiful after she stepped into the well fitting dress and matching shoes. Her blue eyes sparkled with joy as she fixed the earrings to her ears.

Once she was dressed, she hurried out to the front of the building and the car waiting to take the team to the White House. Rossi, Strauss, and Hotch were all standing outside, obviously having forgotten that Garcia was to join them.

"Well, I certainly didn't expect you to be able to find something to wear," Strauss said dryly.

"I didn't either," Rossi said. "Where did you find such a costly ensemble?"

"I just found it," Garcia stammered.

"Just found it, huh? Like you just found my credit card?" Rossi accused.

"No, I didn't-," Garcia started.

"You did!" Rossi cut her off by tearing the necklace from her neck.

"You stole from him?" Hotch questioned. "How dare you!" Hotch ripped pieces of the lace from the dress's delicate neck.

Together they ripped and tore, until the beautiful dress and jewelry were no more. Strauss didn't help them, nor did she try to stop them.

"Well. I guess now you don't have anything suitable to wear," she smirked, getting into the waiting limo. "Come along. It won't due for us to be late. Enjoy your evening of solitude, Ms. Garcia."

Garcia was left standing on the curb, her beautiful dress in tatters.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5-Magic

Penelope sat on the curb, burying her head in her hands. This was a nightmare and she wanted it to be over! Why was this happening? How could she end it? Spencer and Emily looked up at her with sad eyes.

"It'll be alright, Garcia," Spencer offered.

"Oh, Reid…thank you for everything. You and Emily did such a great job. I really appreciate it," Garcia forced a smile as she wiped a single tear away.

Suddenly, the tear grew. As it continued to get larger, it also started glittering. Eventually it became a large, glittering, bubble. Garcia and her little mouse friends looked up, half in wonder and half in worry. Then the bubble popped! The mice scurried to hide behind Garcia. Garcia froze, wondering what was going on. Before she gathered enough nerve to run from her fear, a beautiful woman appeared in front of her.

"Hello, Penelope," the beautiful lady said.

"Uh, hi, I, uh…JJ?"

"I'm your fairy godmother," JJ replied. She certainly looked like JJ. Except…not. Her blonde hair was swirling around her shoulder in loose curls. A diamond and sapphire tiara adorned her angelic head. A shimmering, full length ball gown covered her thin frame. After a close look, Garcia realized the shimmering came from what had to be thousands of tiny diamonds and sapphires, scattered all over the sheer, blue fabric.

"I've come to make your dreams come true, Penelope. Tonight will be magical for you, in so many ways! I can guarantee it."

"Oh, JJ. Thank you," Garcia said, reaching out to hug JJ.

"Don't mention it. It's my job. Now. Where to start," JJ scratched her chin lightly, a pondering look on her face. She pulled a long, shimmering, white stick from her dress and pointed it at Garcia.

Garcia slinked backwards a bit, slightly frightened. However, JJ then pointed the stick, which Garcia now believed to be a wand, at Reid and Emily.

"Every fairy princess needs a fancy car," JJ smiled as she waved her hand. In less than a blink of an eye, Reid and Emily disappeared, being replaced by a large stretch limo.

"Now to find a driver," JJ pursed her lips and placed her hands on her hips. "Oh, you'll do nicely," she smiled as she found Anderson hiding behind Garcia. Magically, the little mouse became a man. A rather handsome man at that.

"Wow," Garcia sighed.

"He'll do," JJ mused.

"Now, you're ready for your magical night. When the vice president sees you, he'll fall head over heels! It'll be a story told for ages!"

"Um, JJ…," Garcia started.

"No need to thank me. There's no time to waste! The magic will disappear at midnight, and everything will be back to normal. You must hurry!"

"JJ. Look at me."

JJ looked Garcia over from head to toe. "Oh. Well. Let's do something about that," JJ said, waving her wand again.

Swirls of glitter surrounded Garcia. She panicked for a moment, afraid she'd never get all the glitter out of her hair. Then the glitter settled, revealing its magic. Garcia looked down and gasped. Where there were once tatters of fabric, she now saw a bright red gown. The gown shimmered with ribbons and lace, the colors glowing like she was on fire. The reds, the oranges, the yellows all worked together to create a beautiful, floor length ball gown.

"Oh, my," Garcia gasped as she took inventory of herself. The shoes caught her off guard. They were made of glass. They were platforms, Garcia's favorite! She felt beautiful.

"Now, hurry!"

"Oh, thank you, JJ, thank you!"

Anderson opened the door and Garcia slid into the backseat of the limo. She was startled when Emily and Reid's voices came through the speakers. "Wow, you look fantastic!"

"You guys can see me?"

"Yes! And you look marvelous. Just like a dream," Emily sighed.

The car raced through the large city streets, arriving at the White House door just as scores of other guests began pouring in the door. Garcia rushed to join them, nervousness building up in her stomach. She approached the door, where people were having their names checked off of a guest list by a large man in a black suit.

Penelope panicked a little, until she realized that she was, in fact, on the guest list.

"Name," the man asked.

"Penelope Garcia. I'm with the FBI's BAU team."

He nodded at her, allowing her to pass and enter the exquisite mansion.


End file.
